An in-depth look at the Clinton LumberKings from radio broadcaster Dave Lezotte. The LumberKings are the class A Midwest League Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Tonight’s Interview: Kevin Rivers

The LumberKings entered the sixth inning of last night’s game against Dayton having not scored in 20-straight innings against Dragons’ pitching. Tim Morris and Kalian Sams reached on singles and Kevin Rivers approached the plate to face Dragons’ righty Daniel Corcino with Clinton still trailing, 3-0. He delievered the game-changing hit, poking a two-run double down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 3-2 (listen:Rivers 2-R double 6.9.11). The Kings would tie the score in the seventh as Matt Browning doubled and scored on a throwing error by pitcher Daniel Wolford, and Morris drove in the game-winning runs with a triple to right-center. Later in the same inning, Rivers executed a safety squeeze bunt to get Morris home. The five-run seventh turned the game completely around, giving the LumberKings a 7-4 win over the Dragons for their third-straight series victory.

Rivers finished 2-for-3 with a season-high-tying three RBI in the win and has a hit in six-straight games. Tonight, I chat with Rivers, a man who went from 2009 non-drafted free agent out of Franklin Pierce University to the 2010 Offensive Player of the Year for Northwest League Champion Everett. Rivers discuses the game last night, his uncommon path to the Mariners’ system, his successful 2010 season in Everett, his time with Clinton so far and more.

The path to a fourth-straight series win starts tonight against the Hot Rods, first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM. All-Star lefty James Paxton looks to continue his trend of dominance…”K-Pax” is 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 48 strikeouts over his last six starts, 32.1 innings. Join me for the broadcast on 1390kcln.com.

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